Coronavirus: Safety advice for anyone visiting the West Sussex coast

Safety advice is going out to anyone in West Sussex who is planning on visiting the beach or coast.

The new government guidance, which came into effect o Wednesday, says that people can take unlimited outdoor exercise, travel to the coast and take day trips.

People are also now allowed use the water, for activities such as swimming, kayaking, surfing, boating and angling, provided they stick to the two-metre social distancing rules.

But the main government message is still to stay at home as much as possible.

The RNLI is warning those who do decide to head to the coast that at present there are no lifeguards on West Sussex's beaches.

Although the volunteer lifeboat crews at Selsey, Littlehampton and Shoreham are fully operational, should they be needed, the charity says it is important that anyone visiting the coast understands the risk and takes the necessary steps to keep themselves safe.

Many people may choose to head to the coast from tomorrow, but at present there are no RNLI lifeguards on beaches, so it is important that anyone visiting the coast understands the risk and takes the necessary steps to keep themselves safe 👇 pic.twitter.com/iBImGz33ii

"This will also help to reduce the demands placed on our lifeboat crews and other emergency services including HM Coastguard.

"In this way we can all work together to succeed in ensuring the coast is a safe place to visit.

"The RNLI normally patrols over 240 beaches around the coast, however, rollout of the normal seasonal lifeguard service was paused at the end of March due to the measures put in place by the UK Government to control the spread of Coronavirus."

RNLI spokesperson

The charity is currently working with local authorities and beach owners in the hope that it can provide a lifeguard service on around 30% of the beaches the charity usually covers this summer.

"Re-establishing this infrastructure and distributing equipment to beaches will take time.

"We must also make sure that conditions are safe for our lifeguards to provide an effective service – our priority remains to be the safety of our people and the public."

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